Ruling on illegal appointment of city hall employees upheld

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court has upheld the ruling of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) declaring illegal the mass appointment of 89 city hall employees by an outgoing Dumaguete City mayor who lost in a re-election bid in 2001.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo, the High Court affirmed the validity of the CSC regulation on mass appointments, saying the ban on appointments by an outgoing public official is “intended to ensure that appointments and promotions in the civil service are made solely on the basis of qualifications, instead of political loyalties or patronage.”

“The integrity and reliability of our civil service is never more sorely tested than in the impassioned demagoguery of elections,” the SC said.

In May 2001, then Dumaguete Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo sought re-election but lost to Agustin Perdices. On June 5, 7, and 11 of the same year, Remollo promoted 15 city hall employees and regularized 74 others.

On July 2, 2001, newly elected Mayor Perdices announced during the flag ceremony at the city hall that he would not honor the appointments. On the same day, he instructed City Administrator Dominador Dumalag Jr. to direct City Assistant Treasurer Erlinda Tumongha to stop paying the workers their salary increases based on their new positions.

On Aug. 1, 2001, 52 of the employees filed a petition against the city but the Regional Trial Court dismissed it. On the same day, the CSC Field Office in Dumaguete, through Director II Fabio Abucejo, revoked the mass appointment, saying it violates a CSC resolution prohibiting appointments by an outgoing city mayor.

The SC said the case is common among local chief executives who appoint pet employees before leaving their post.

“This case is a typical example of the practice of outgoing local chief executives to issue ‘midnight’ appointments, especially after their successors have been proclaimed. It does not only cause animosities between the outgoing and the incoming officials, but also affects efficiency in local governance. Those appointed tend to devote their time and energy to defending their appointments instead of attending to their functions,” the SC said. –Edu Punay (The Philippine Star)